


The Official Spiderblog

by Choco_Bananas



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crime Fighting, LGBTQ, M/M, Rain, Slow Burn, Spiderman AU, Supervillain, Violence, aro ace Christine, boyf riends — Freeform, the SQUIP is the villain duh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2018-11-17 05:35:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11268987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Choco_Bananas/pseuds/Choco_Bananas
Summary: It had been three whole months since that weird radioactive spider had bitten him behind Payless. Three whole months since he found out he could shoot webs from his wrists and climb walls. Three whole months since Michael had practically founded a Spiderman fan club at Middleborough and would not stop talking to Jeremy about Spiderman’s amazing feats of heroism that Jeremy couldn’t forget even if he tried. He briefly wondered how his life came to be so ridiculous, but he supposed it could have been worse.





	1. Birth of the Blog

**Author's Note:**

> I finally cracked. I'm doing this. I just love Spiderman and BMC too much to not do this.

“This is it. I’m going to die,” Jeremy groaned, dropping his head against his desk. He slowly hit his forehead against the wooden surface repeatedly, which succeeded in annoying the fuck out of Michael.

“Dude, you’re not gonna die. And would you stop that?” he said, nudging Jeremy’s arm.

“Owwwww,” he moaned, weakly clutching at his bicep.

“I didn’t even nudge you that hard, calm down,” Michael muttered, returning his attention to his laptop screen.

What Michael didn’t know was that he had just nudged the freshly bandaged wound on Jeremy’s arm. It took all of his willpower not to cry out and wince in pain, but the painkillers had finally started to kick in, so thankfully Jeremy just had to softly rub the area a bit to ease up the pain.

It had been three whole months since that weird radioactive spider had bitten him behind Payless. Three whole months since he found out he could shoot webs from his wrists and climb walls. _Three whole months_ since Michael had practically founded a Spiderman fan club at Middleborough and would not stop talking to Jeremy about Spiderman’s amazing feats of heroism that Jeremy couldn’t forget even if he tried. He briefly wondered how his life came to be so ridiculous, but he supposed it could have been worse.

“So are you gonna tell me why you’re gonna die or are you just gonna keep silently making out with the table?” Michael suddenly blurted out, startling Jeremy out of his little reverie.

“I don’t know, this table seems to be enjoying it,” Jeremy mumbled, chuckling lightly. Michael rolled his eyes.

“You know who I’d like to make out with?” he asked.

“Spiderman?” Jeremy replied automatically.

“Damn right.”

“That’s so gay.”

“As am I, thanks for noticing.”

Jeremy chuckled and lifted his head off the table, leaning back in his chair instead. He peered over Michael’s shoulder and stared curiously at the website builder on the laptop screen.

“Enough about me and my wish for death, what are you doing?” he asked. Michael flushed and moved to cover up his screen, even though Jeremy had already seen.

“I-It’s…” Michael stuttered. Jeremy leaned forward and eyed the URL.

“The Official Spiderblog dot com?” Jeremy read aloud, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at Michael. The other boy flushed redder and pressed his lips together in a straight line. If only he knew that the real Spiderman was sitting right next to him at that moment. Jeremy mused that Michael might actually explode.

“Dude… That’s actually pretty cool. I’m sure Spidey’ll be flattered,” Jeremy said, smiling encouragingly. Michael breathed a sigh of relief and smiled softly.

“Ya think?” he asked. Jeremy nodded. Even if Michael didn’t know, he was beyond flattered that he would go through all this trouble for him.

“Yeah dude. Better finish it soon so he can see it,” Jeremy said, nudging Michael in the ribs.

“Ah, okay. Actually I’ve been having a little trouble with choosing designs and stuff. Wanna help?”

“Uh, sure.”

And that’s how Jeremy ended up feeling like the most narcissistic person in the world, helping his Spidey super fan of a best friend create a blog about himself. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t have fun though. Watching Michael talk animatedly about his idol was all Jeremy needed to stay sane in his crazy life.

~~~~~

“Dude!” was all the warning Jeremy got before he was practically tackled from behind. For some reason, his Spidey senses didn’t work when it came to Michael. He yelped and stumbled forward as the familiar sound of Michael’s laughter boomed in his ear. When he regained his balance, he furrowed his brows and gave his friend a disapproving look.

“You almost killed me,” Jeremy said, only half joking. Michael rolled his eyes.

“Ever since you joined the play you’ve been a freakin’ drama queen. I don’t know why you stopped,” Michael replied. _Maybe it’s because I’m too busy saving New Jersey and the New York area,_ he thought, but he kept that thought to himself.

“Anyways, I finished the blog at 3 AM last night. Wanna see it?” Michael asked excitedly. Jeremy frowned as all of a sudden he noticed the dark circles under his friend’s eyes.

“Dude, that ain’t healthy,” he replied, but motioned for Michael to show him anyways. He handed his phone over to Jeremy, who immediately smiled when he noticed that Michael had written, “Co-created by my Player Two” in small letters under the title.

“Aw, that’s sweet,” Jeremy said, fanning himself and fluttering his eyelashes at Michael. He earned a shove and a giggle for his troubles.

“Keep scrolling, there are already a few posts from users,” Michael said. Jeremy skimmed over the existing posts, unable to keep a smile off his lips.

“This is awesome Michael, keep it up,” Jeremy said, finishing the last post and handing the phone back to Michael. He smiled and raised a finger.

“About that. I got an email last night from the Daily Bugle and they said they wanted to use the blog as a source for their stories on Spiderman!” he practically yelled. Jeremy was slightly taken aback.

“Wait, they know you made the blog?” he asked.

“Nah, it’s an anonymous thing, they know this stuff’ll get someone in trouble.”

“Oh… good. And?”

“Technically they’re paying me as a free lance journalist/photographer so I gotta start taking some pictures too-”

“Nope! Uh-uh, absolutely not,” Jeremy interrupted, shaking his head. Michael raised an eyebrow and frowned.

“Dude, I thought you were all for this,” he said.

“Yeah! I’m all for you having a fan blog, not going out and actively going to superhero fights and possibly getting hurt! There’s no way I’m letting you get in the line of fire!” Jeremy said frantically. He was aware that he was drawing some attention in the halls, but he didn’t care. Michael came first, and he would never be able to forgive himself if he put Michael in danger and risked losing him.

“Dude, chill! I’m going to be on the sidelines, relax! I’m not in a rush to die,” Michael joked, trying to lighten up the mood. That didn’t help with Jeremy’s anxiety.

“That’s not the point! You of all people should know how fast these fights could escalate! There’s no telling how long ranged attacks can be, and- and what if Spiderman can’t save you?!” he asked, nearly delirious with worry. He couldn’t help it as his brain jumped to conclusions, and he weakly tugged the front of his shirt to see if that would make breathing easier.

“Seriously, I’ll be fine! Stop getting so worked up! I won’t even get in the line of fire in the first place! I’m going to ask my parents to get me a camera with a powerful lens so I can take pictures from far away, okay? I promise I’ll be careful,” Michael said reassuringly, stepping forward to give Jeremy a much-needed hug. He practically melted into the embrace, his anxiety slipping away for now.

“Dude, it’s still gonna be dangerous. I just want you to be safe…” Jeremy trailed off. Michael patted his back.

“I’ll be fiiiiine, stop worrying!” he pulled away and Jeremy pouted.

“Awww, look at my wittle baby. Worried about daddy?” Michael joked. Jeremy groaned and pushed Michael lightly.

“Ew, gross!”

“You know you love me!”

Jeremy flipped him off, but deep down he knew it was true.

~~~~~

Jeremy absentmindedly tugged at a loose red thread dangling from the seam of his glove. He made a mental note to repair his costume when he got back home; he didn’t take those Home Ec classes for no reason.

Tonight seemed like a quiet night, for which Jeremy was grateful. It was on nights like these where he could stand on a roof and survey his city. He was in costume, sure, but he felt like he was neither Jeremy nor Spiderman. He was just a person who could think about trivial things without being nearly killed. He didn’t have to worry about schoolwork, but he didn’t have to worry about super villains either. It was nice.

Then a shrill shriek cut through the night air.

Jeremy sighed, distantly thinking that all good things had to end eventually. He stepped off the building and shot a web by instinct, his new ability like a third arm now. He swung around the skyscraper and located where the scream had come from, snapping his web and dropping a few stories before shooting another and swinging towards his new objective. When he landed on a shorter building that made up one half of a stinky alleyway, he cautiously peered over the edge and wasn’t prepared for what he saw.

Michael was shoved against the damp wall, clutching at a brand new camera with a nervous expression on his face. His prized red hoodie was torn at the shoulder seam, indicating that he had been grabbed rather roughly. Three guys were facing him, clearly asking for the camera.

Jeremy’s blood boiled, and he clenched his teeth beneath his mask. He dropped down from the roof and landed gracefully at the entrance of the alley, blocking the escape route.

“Well well well,” he drawled, trying his best to contain his anger, “what do we have here?”

The three guys whirled around, the shock and fear evident on their faces. Jeremy would’ve laughed if he weren’t so livid.

“S-Spiderman!” Michael exclaimed. He looked like he was about to laugh, or burst into tears, or maybe even both.

“W-We were just…” one of the guys started, but his tongue seemed to have stopped working mid-sentence. The other two looked like they were about to shit their pants.

“Leaving?” Jeremy completed, making a vague gesture with his hands. There was a flash of light and a shutter sound as Michael inevitably took a picture.

“Y-yep!” the same guy yelped, taking off and running past Jeremy, his other friends right on his heels. He decided to be merciful and not give them hell. He took a deep breath to calm down, before walking towards Michael.

“Are you- ahem. Are you alright?” Jeremy asked, making the split second decision to lower his voice a bit. Hopefully Michael wouldn’t recognize him.

“I-I’m fine!” Michael squeaked. Jeremy smiled endearingly, thankful that the mask was there to hide his fond expression. He gave Michael a once over anyways, paying closer attention to the tear on the shoulder of his hoodie.

“Are you sure?” Jeremy asked one more time. Michael nodded vigorously.

“S-Sorry I took a picture! I-I’m a huge f-fan and I just recently started a b-blog and stuff…” Michael stuttered. Jeremy tilted his head and tried to act as if he didn’t already know.

“Oh? The Spiderblog? It’s been making its rounds recently. That’s you?” he asked as nonchalantly as possible. Michael looked like he was about to pass out.

“Yep! That’s me, heheh. H-hey do you m-mind if I take a picture? L-like a personal one?”

“Um, sure. Go ahead. Just don’t post it anywhere, you might make yourself a target.”

Once again, Michael nodded so hard Jeremy thought his head might just pop off. He looked so happy and excited and star-struck though, that he decided to go through with it. Anything to make Michael happy, right? The other boy fumbled with his phone and opened the camera app, switching to the front camera for a good old-fashioned selfie. He smiled his widest smile, and Jeremy would have done the same if it had mattered. Instead, he raised a red-gloved hand in a peace sign and smiled casually beneath his mask. After a few clicks (because Michael always liked to make sure), he lowered his phone and shoved it back into his pocket.

“Th-thank you so much for tonight! I’m not sure what I’d do if this got stolen,” he gestured vaguely at his new camera. He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“It’s no big deal, it’s my job after all,” Jeremy replied, “If you’re not hurt, then I’ll be going now. Try to hide that camera from view, you don’t want to get mugged again.” And with that he webbed the nearest building and swung away.

Jeremy headed straight home after that. He knew that Michael was probably sprinting to his house right now, eager to tell Jeremy all about his encounter with his obsession. He climbed through his window and shut it, closing the blinds and hurriedly taking off his suit. He shoved it in the cardboard box by his bed and shoved that into the deepest corner of his closet. He changed back into his regular clothes and just closed his closet door when he heard the front door slam open.

“JEREMIAH HEERE, YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHO I JUST TALKED TO!” Michael screamed into the house. Jeremy chuckled, then prepared himself to act as if the previous events hadn’t even happened. It was a good thing he did take drama.

“I’m in my room!” he shouted back. He sat down in his chair to make it look as if he’d been on his laptop the entire night, and waited as the heard the pounding of footsteps running up his stairs. Two seconds later, Michael burst through his door as well, panting and sweating.

“Dude!” He squeaked, his cheeks flushed. Jeremy’s eyes traveled to the tear in Michael’s sweater.

“Michael! What happened to you?!” he exclaimed, getting up and walking to his nightstand. He opened a drawer and brought out the sewing kit he received from Home Ec. Michael was already half out of his hoodie, throwing it to Jeremy after he had wrestled himself out of it.

“I’m fine, see! Anyways you’re not going to believe what just happened!”

Michael recounted the details of the event with a ridiculous attention to detail. As Jeremy sewed the tear shut, Michael wouldn’t stop talking about cool Spiderman was, or how scared the three muggers were, or how nice and awesome his idol was for agreeing to take a picture with him.

“Sounds like you had a blast,” Jeremy chuckled, cutting the thread and handing the hoodie back to Michael.

“Dude, how did you get so good at sewing?” Michael asked, already starting to put his hoodie back on. Jeremy paled and busied himself with putting away his equipment.

“I’ve… had some practice,” he mumbled.

“Oh hey! Wanna see the pictures I took?” Michael asked, already reaching for his phone.

“Yeah, sure,” Jeremy replied, scooting closer as Michael proudly showed off the half a dozen selfies he took, as well as the shot of Spiderman facing off against the muggers. Jeremy himself had to admit, he did look pretty cool in that shot.

“You won’t post the selfies, will you?” he asked tentatively. Michael shook his head.

“Spiderman specifically told me not to. Said it would make me a target. Isn’t he great?” Michael sighed dreamily. Jeremy rolled his eyes and nudged Michael in the ribs.

“Earth to lover boy, hello?” Jeremy teased. Michael laughed, then looked at the picture on his camera.

“This one’s gonna get me a pretty penny though. Wanna split the reward?”

“What? No man, this was all you. I don’t really need the money anyways.”

“Well… alright. But your birthday present this year is going to be amazing.”

“Aw, thanks Michael,” Jeremy said, hugging his friend from the side. Michael shifted to hug back, smiling widely.

“Do you think I’ll get to see him again?” Michael mumbled after a few moments. Jeremy pulled back.

“He knows about your blog right?”

“Yeah…”

“Then probably. The guy’s probably your second biggest fan right about now.”

Michael smirked and hugged Jeremy tighter.

“Oh yeah? Then who’s my number one fan?” he asked. Jeremy felt his cheeks flush, but answered with a smile.

“Me.”

~~~~~

__

## [SPIDERMAN SAVED MY ASS!]

_posted by: PlayerOne_

_Mod speaking! You guys aren’t going to believe this, but I was about to get mugged on my way home tonight! In hindsight I was kinda dumb for having my shiny new camera out in the open in New Jersey, but I guess I was a bit excited._

_Anyways, I was about to get mugged when Spiderman jumped down from one of the buildings and challenged the muggers! The three of them ran away scared shitless! And not only that, but Spiderman stayed behind to make sure I was okay! He even let me take a selfie with him! (I wont show it since he told me not to.)_

_And he even knows about this blog! I think I can die happily now. Goodbye beautiful world._


	2. Lizard Lady

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally have no idea where I was going with this. I swear the storyline is there but I'm still figuring it out so please bear with me lmao
> 
> Also thank you guys so much for the support on the last chapter! This is my first time attempting something like this, so I hope it lives up to your expectations!

It was raining. No, scratch that, it was pouring, and Jeremy hated days like this. He woke up groggily to the sound of heavy raindrops pounding on his window, and he buried his face into his pillow, groaning as loudly as physically possible.

“Whyyyyyyyyyy,” he screamed into his pillow. He reluctantly emerged and sleepily rubbed his hand over his eyes. He sincerely hoped that no one would need Spiderman’s help today, but knowing Jersey, he wasn’t counting on it. He stumbled out of bed and got ready for the day, stuffing his spandex into the bottom of his bag.

There was the honk of a familiar car horn from outside of his house. Jeremy smiled to himself as he grabbed his stuff and walked to the front door, closing it then sprinting across his lawn to Michael’s car. He practically threw himself inside, his hair already soaked.

“Dude! I have a driveway you know!” Jeremy said, shoving his backpack to the floorboards.

“I just wanted to see you run for your life,” Michael replied, smirking as he started driving. Jeremy frowned, then shook his head like a wet dog, spraying water droplets everywhere and causing Michael to shriek in surprise.

“Fuck you Jeremy!”

“Thanks but no thanks!”

~~~~~

Of course this would happen today. Jeremy tugged at his hair in frustration as he sat in a bathroom stall during lunch break. He was scrolling through news feeds on his phone and all of them read the same thing:

BREAKING NEWS: MONSTER IN JERSEY?

MUTANT TERRORIZES NEWARK, NEW JERSEY!

FREAK IN NEWARK!

Among the sleazy news article titles, there were numerous blurry cell phone pictures of the “monster” and he had to admit that the thing was scary.

It was about twenty feet tall, reptilian and purple. Why purple, Jeremy didn’t know, but it looked strong and possibly venomous. He grit his teeth and peered over the edge of the stall, glancing out the window only to see that the rain had only started to come down harder. Jeremy shook his head in defeat and started to change.

Five minutes later, Jeremy was out in the freezing cold rain in nothing but his boxers and spandex. He shivered from head to toe as the rain pelted down on him, soaking him completely. Visibility was low, and he nearly crashed in three buildings on his way to the largest city in Jersey.

As he neared the center of the metropolis, he spotted it. It was vaguely humanoid, standing on its hind legs. It was grotesquely disfigured by the spines along it’s back and the large, crocodile like tail. It was huge, and had teeth that looked like it could snap a bus clean in half. Jeremy decided to land on its head.

“Hey there, you lost? The zoo’s that way if you’re wondering,” Jeremy yelled over the pounding rain, easily adopting his Spiderman persona. There was a loud roar, and Jeremy stumbled over the lumps on the monster’s skull, the sound waves rattling his organs.

“SPIDERMAN, SO YOU’VE COME,” the lizard boomed. Jeremy finally regained his balance, and then crouched just to be safe.

“Yeah, now be a good lizard and stop terrorizing the innocent humans, ‘kay?” he shouted back, patting the rough skin beneath him. There was a strange gurgling sound beneath him, and it took him a second to realize that it was laughter.

“NOT A CHANCE,” it said, before the hairs on the back of Jeremy’s neck rose up and the familiar cold tingle shot up his spine. He immediately kicked off of the disfigured skull, shooting a web at a nearby building and swinging away just as the huge crocodile tail swept over the top of the creature’s head. He surely would have broken his back if that thing had hit him.

“Aw, what the hell man, I was trying to be nice!” Jeremy yelled. He knew his plan would have never worked, but it didn’t hurt to try.

“MAN? WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MAN?!” the lizard bellowed, blasting Jeremy with bad reptilian breath. Thankfully the rain got rid of the stink pretty quickly.

“Wait, you mean you’re not a dude? Girl, you need a make over!” Jeremy yelled, webbing an abandoned car on the road and hurling it at the giant reptile. She batted it away, wincing as the sparks hit her face. 

“HOW DARE YOU!” she roared, advancing forward. She reached back, and Jeremy instinctually jumped off the building just as she punched where he had been a second ago. He shot a web to the next building, but a piece of debris cut his web clean in half and a larger piece hit him in the back, sending him tumbling down to the wet sidewalk with a splash and a grunt of pain. 

“… Fuck,” he groaned, wincing as he lifted himself off the ground. His knees were badly scraped, and he could feel the tears in the suit on his back, exposing his skin completely to the rain. He winced as he watched the puddle around him start to turn pink.

“I WILL CRUSH YOU LIKE THE BUG YOU ARE!” came a loud, guttural voice behind him. Jeremy stumbled to his feet, limping away as fast as he could to gain momentum. He shot a web successfully this time, swinging himself up to the relative safety of a skyscraper roof.

“Ugh, fuck. You idiot,” he muttered, berating himself. He winced as the pain started catching up to him. He’d have to finish this fast, before his adrenaline ran out.

“HE ASKED FOR ME TO BRING YOU BACK ALIVE, BUT I’M NOT SO SURE ANYMORE,” the reptile growled from somewhere below him. Jeremy cautiously peered over the edge and was relieved to see her looking around at eyelevel. She hadn’t spotted him yet. He quickly assessed the area, taking in anything that could possibly be used as a way to take her down.

“What did the Japanese do with their reptile problem again? Shit,” he muttered to himself. He thought for a moment, then decided for a good old-fashioned ‘rope around the legs’ take down. 

He ran along the roof, jumping from his building to the next with some difficulty. When he thought he was far enough ahead, he started flailing his arms and yelling.

“HEY! UGLY! OVER HERE! COME AND GET IT!” Jeremy screamed, wiggling his butt for good measure. The reptile roared and started towards him, her gait slowly escalating to a run, then to a full on gallop towards him. Which in her terms, still wasn’t that fast. Jeremy leapt off the building, launching a web at the building on the other side of the road and using the momentum of the swing to shoot another, this time on the reptile’s shoulder. He twisted in the air, painfully sucking in a breath as the wounds on his back opened some more.

He let out some more web, swinging around her entire body until he got to her legs. She stumbled and let out a frustrated roar, but thankfully Jeremy’s webs were stronger than steel and could withstand almost anything. He cut off the web when he got to her ankles, hitting the ground with a stumble. With barely any time to spare, he shot one final web about two meters high across the entire street, tugging hard when she stumbled into the web. The reptile finally tripped, landing face first into the street with a huge BOOM.

Jeremy braced himself on his knees, panting heavily and coughing. The rain had finally started to let up into more of a drizzle, and Jeremy shivered as a small gust of wind blew through the street. He straightened up and jogged towards the downed lizard, shooting a few more webs to tether her down, just in case. He dimly registered the sounds of approaching sirens, and turned to see a brigade of cop cars driving towards him.

“Time to leave, I guess,” he muttered to himself, about to make his escape.

“HE’LL GET YOU EVENTUALLY…” the lizard behind him rumbled. Jeremy turned around, hesitated, then jogged right up to the lizard’s face.

“Who are you working for?” he asked. There was a soft wheezing coming from the lizard, which seemed to be chuckling.

“DO YOU REALLY THINK I’D TELL YOU? YOU’LL KNOW IN DUE TIME,” she rumbled. Then she closed her eyes, ignoring Jeremy completely.

“Hey! Don’t move!” a police officer a couple feet away from him shouted, approaching cautiously.

“C’mon man, I just saved your asses,” he said, before shaking his head and running, shooting a web and swinging back to school.

By the time he got back to school, the rain had mercifully stopped. He snuck back into the boy’s restroom during classes, making sure that no one was inside before finding his stashed away backpack and changing back into his regular attire. He was still cold and damp and bleeding, so he rushed home immediately, sneezing multiple times on his walk back.

~~~~~

Jeremy woke up the next day with a splitting headache. He coughed into his hand and sniffled, trying to burrow back into his blankets and sleep for a century.

Last night had been rough. He made it home without passing out, and jumped into a steaming hot shower afterwards, cleaning out his wounds and trying to relax. When he had properly treated himself, he shoved his suit back into his closet and dimly made a mental note to clean it and fix it later, but right then he just wanted sleep. He napped for a few hours before Michael had called several times, demanding where he had been that afternoon. All of it just added up to a massive headache.

Jeremy absentmindedly looked out the window, and groaned when he realized it was raining yet again. 

_The universe hates me. First it rains, then I get crushed under a piece of cement, then I take down a giant lizard lady, and find out that some super villain is after me? And now I’m sick and it’s raining again?_ Jeremy suddenly hated his life. He definitely didn’t want to go to school today, or else he thought he might just die right then and there. He sighed and tried to settle down into another fitful nap.

But of course the universe had other plans for him.

The bedroom door slammed open, startling Jeremy so much that he jumped and fell out of bed, bruising his already cut up back some more. He groaned and opened his eyes, glaring straight at the intruder, who just so happened to be Michael.

“Oh shit, sorry Jeremy,” Michael yelped, concern written all over his face. He kneeled down and helped Jeremy up, who was muttering obscenities under his breath. The two of them sat down on the bed, Jeremy lying down carefully shortly after.

“Dude, you look like hell,” Michael remarked. Jeremy laughed dryly, which triggered a coughing fit that lasted for about 15 seconds.

“I feel like hell, Mell,” Jeremy replied when he had finished. He sighed and grabbed his blanket, wrapping it around himself tightly. Michael ran a hand through his hair, which Jeremy thought must have been gross since he was so sweaty. He appreciated it nonetheless.

“I didn’t know you were this sick yesterday. I would’ve come over and taken care of you,” Michael mumbled apologetically. Jeremy hummed.

“It’s fine, I’m glad you’re here now,” he mumbled back. His eyes fluttered shut, and he fell asleep to the feeling of Michael playing with his hair.

~~~~~

“Achoo!” Jeremy sneezed harshly into his sleeve, startling half the class. Some people mumbled ‘bless you’ as Jeremy apologized quietly. It was study hall, and Jeremy had half a mind to just take a nap on his textbook right then, but he knew he had to catch up on what he had missed two days ago. He’d fail Chemistry if he didn’t.

There was a soft buzzing in his pocket, and Jeremy made sure the coast was clear before fishing out his phone. Chemistry could wait.

_spiderlover69: duuuuude the lizaaaaard its gross_

_spiderlover69: know what isnt gross? Spiderman_

_spiderlover69: ;)_

Jeremy bit his lip to contain his laughter. He looked around once more before replying.

_michaelno: idk man spiders are p gross_

_spiderlover69: u take that back rn Jeremiah Heere_

_michaelno: nah_

_spiderlover69: ur just jealous of our love_

_spiderlover69: we gon hav spider babies_

_michaelno: michael no_

_spiderlover69: michael yes_

Jeremy snorted quietly, then quickly covered his mouth in horror. He looked at the teacher who was thankfully still busy with her magazine. He breathed a small sigh of relief and looked back at his phone.

_michaelno: dude ill text u later, study hall_

_spiderlover69: ugh fiiiiine_

_spiderlover69: byeeeee_

_spiderlover69: -3o_

_michaelno: lol bye_

~~~~~

__

## [SPIDEY DESTROYS A LIZARD]

__

_posted by: PlayerOne_

_You all know what I’m talking about. That lizard got fucking wrecked. Apparently Spiderman got hurt though; hope he’s okay. I’ll attach an in-depth news article about what happened down below, but trust me you’re not missing much. Lizard Lady didn’t stand a chance._

_I wonder how he fought her in the rain though. Isn’t it hard? Or cold? Or something? Do you guys think Spiderman gets sick? Probably not. Anyways, enough of my rambling. If you guys have any news or theories, feel free to post them. Signing out my dudes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Come yell at me on Tumblr (@sweetsinnamondaddy) and on Wattpad (@Choco_Bananas) if you wanna hang out! Love you guys!


	3. I Can't Tell You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was listening to the Wonder Woman soundtrack while writing this and honestly,,, I was crying,,, Hopefully, you'll all get a kick out of this chapter as well :')

“Dude, seriously, there's a new DLC out and it's fucking amazing! I just downloaded it so you have to get your ass back to your house right now so we can play it!” Michael’s excited voice blared into Jeremy’s ear as he stood on his favourite surveillance spot; the top of the Goldman Sachs tower.

“Well, I'm a bit busy right now,” Jeremy said sheepishly, tugging on his suit where it clung to his skin uncomfortably.

“I don't give a fuck! Does it sound like I give a fuck? You'd better be here in like, an hour or else I'm gonna kick your ass, Jeremiah Heere!” Michael shouted. Jeremy knew he didn't mean it, but Michael did tend to get a little scary whenever he got a new game.

“Okay okay, just-” a distant gunshot and a scream interrupted him, as his gaze automatically snapped towards the street where the offending sound came from.

“Michael I gotta go. I'll be there okay? Bye,” he said, waiting for Michael to say a confused ‘bye’ back before hanging up. Jeremy took a deep breath before leaping off the roof and swinging his way to the source of trouble.

He ended up near a Bank of America, witnessing the most clichéd bank heist he had ever seen. There were men in weird animals masks lugging heavy black duffle bags into a beat up black van, distantly shouting at each other and at bank employees. One guy lifted his right hand, revealing a loaded pistol, and shot a warning bullet into the air. Jeremy cracked his neck and his wrists, and got to work.

~~~~~

The heist ended up being one of Jeremy’s longest missions to date. He managed to stop the van, but that didn’t stop most of the men jumping out, shooting at him with everything they had. Evidently they had planned a great deal, since they all scattered in different directions and it took Jeremy nearly the entire afternoon to capture them all.

Jeremy landed on his roof with a thud, panting heavily as exhaustion weighed him down. He crawled along the brick exterior of his home until he reached his bedroom window, prying it open and stumbling inside. He peeled his suit off his bruised and battered skin, and threw it back into his usual hiding spot; the deepest corner of his closet. Thankfully he wasn't bleeding, so he just grabbed whatever was on top in his drawers and threw them on, collapsing into his bed shortly after.

“Just a short nap…” he muttered to himself, letting his eyelids flutter shut. He dimly registered the sound of the toilet flushing down the hallway, but dismissed it as his dad. It was only when the door opened and someone shook his shoulder rather roughly that Jeremy realized that he had completely forgotten his plans for that afternoon.

“Michael…?” he muttered without even opening his eyes.

“Yeah, it’s me. Also what the hell, when did you even get home?” Michael asked accusingly. Jeremy reluctantly opened his eyes and sat up, brushing some hair out of his eyes.

“Just now,” he replied.

“Why? I thought we made plans!”

“I’m sorry Michael, I just-”

“You just what? You’ve been acting weird for like, 3 months now. If you don’t wanna hang out with me anymore, then just freaking tell me!” Michael practically shouted, backing away and crossing his arms. Jeremy frantically shook his head.

“No! That’s not it! I do wanna hang out with you!” he defended, almost pleading.

“You’ve blown me off too many times man! Did you get a girlfriend or something?” Michael asked bitterly. Jeremy felt his cheeks heat up involuntarily at the accusation.

“N-No! No one would want to date me anyways, dude! I’m not in a relationship,” Jeremy mumbled the last part.

“Okay, then what other explanation is there?”

“Please stop jumping to conclusions-”

“Oh, I’m jumping to conclusions? I’m sorry, my best friend seemingly is too busy to hang out with me anymore and always gives me some lame excuse when I find him beat up or exhausted in his bed. Guess I’ll just have to ignore all that and pretend like everything is still normal? I've been trying to, but it's still happening!” Michael laughed incredulously and hugged himself, visibly holding back tears. All his pent up emotions were bubbling up now, and Jeremy knew that it was all his fault.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you,” Jeremy said as firmly as he could. Michael looked crestfallen as a heavy silence fell over the two of them.

“Okay, fine. Don’t tell me.”

Michael stormed out and slammed Jeremy’s door shut.

~~~~~

“Christine?” Jeremy tentatively tapped his friend’s shoulder. Christine turned in her seat and smiled kindly at Jeremy.

“Hey Jeremy, what’s up?” she said, noting his exhausted expression, “I’m guessing you pulled an all nighter?”

“... Sort of. Can I sit with you today?” he asked. Christine nodded and scooted over, allowing Jeremy to slide onto the bench of the lunch table. He waved shyly at Rich and Jake, who waved back cheerfully. Chloe and Brooke were too busy talking to each other to pay him any attention, and Jenna was busy tapping away at her phone, but Jeremy was pretty thankful for that at the moment.

“Michael not here today?” she asked casually. Jeremy let out a dejected sigh.

“No, we’re just not really on good terms right now,” he replied, picking up his fork and poking sadly at his green peas. Christine raised an eyebrow and looked over her shoulder, seeing a miserable looking Michael with puffy eyes.

“Oh,” she said, turning back to Jeremy and patting his shoulder kindly.

“You guys have a lovers’ quarrel?” Rich asked, raising an eyebrow. Jake smacked his bicep and scowled.

“Not now dude,” Jake hissed. Jeremy smiled at him thankfully.

“It… It was just a fight. We’ll get over it,” Jeremy mumbled, still playing with his food. His stomach clenched uncomfortably when he glanced over his shoulder and saw Michael get up and leave. He turned back to the main group only to realize that the other girls were staring at Michael as well with sad expressions.

“That boy’s got it bad,” Chloe commented. Brooke nodded sympathetically while Jenna hummed in agreement.

“What do you mean?” Jeremy asked, confused. Chloe raised a groomed eyebrow at him.

“Nothing.”

~~~~~

It had been three days since the fight, and Jeremy couldn't even remember a time when Michael hadn't talked to him for this long. It was driving him insane.

“I've tried everything, Christine! I called him a million times, left him like three thousand voicemails saying ‘I’m sorry Michael please forgive me’; I texted him a bunch and he left me on read; I even sent him a fucking email! Who sends emails these days?!” Jeremy ranted into his phone, pacing back and forth in his bedroom. There was a loud sigh on the other end of the call.

“Give him some time Jeremy, I'm sure it’ll work out in the end. I’m not really into this romantic stuff, but Michael isn’t going to stop associating with you because of one fight,” Christine said. Jeremy scoffed and blushed hard, feeling himself start to sweat.

“W-what do you mean, ‘romantic stuff’? There’s nothing going on between us that’s ‘romantic’,” Jeremy denied, causing Christine to sigh again.

“I’m aro ace, not oblivious. Like I said, give him some more time, and he’ll accept your apology. Listen, Jeremy, I’m sorry, but there’s a huge physics test coming up and I really need to study for it. Call me back later, okay?” she said. Jeremy reluctantly agreed and said his goodbyes, Christine’s words still swirling around in his head.

Romantic? There was absolutely no way. And even if it was true, Michael would literally do anything to be with _Spiderman_ , not Jeremy, and there was no way in hell Jeremy would ever reveal his secret identity to anyone.

He sighed heavily and dropped onto his bed, rubbing his sinuses as he felt a headache coming on. His body ached with exhaustion, as his past few outings as Spiderman caused him to get hurt more than usual. Jeremy knew he was being careless, but he couldn't help it. He just didn’t have the motivation to do things right anymore.

There was a soft ‘ping’ from his phone, and Jeremy reluctantly peered at the screen, squinting from the brightness.

_BREAKING NEWS: Renowned crime boss Julius Bejarano spotted off Mulberry Street!_

“Oh great, a renowned crime boss,” Jeremy muttered to himself sarcastically. He dragged himself out of bed and trudged to his closet, shoving things around until he found his spandex.

“Guess I’ll just die or something, and have Michael and dad find out I’m fucking Spiderman from my body,” Jeremy muttered again, bitterly pulling on his recently repaired but dirty suit.

“No big deal or anything, it’s not like this guy could have a hundred lackeys with guns and huge muscles,” he said, opening his window and climbing out. Jeremy seriously didn’t feel like it today, but he knew he had a duty to fulfill.

“Fuck my life.”

~~~~~

“Hey,” Jeremy called out, his voice muffled slightly by his mask. The tall, muscular hispanic man standing before him whipped around, startled.

“Mind if you just surrender? I’m not really in the mood today,” Jeremy continued as he reached into a small pouch sewn into the hip of his suit. He brought out a few zip ties and waved them in Bejarano’s face.

“Please dude? I don’t think either of us want to get our hands dirty today,” he warned, his voice devoid of the usual Spiderman-esque amusement. Bejarano scoffed, then snapped his fingers. As soon as he did, about a dozen men stepped into the alley from either the entrance or hiding spots. Jeremy cursed his own lack of observation.

“That’s where you’re wrong, _Spiderboy_. I didn’t actually expect you to come, but I guess the stupid ones are usually the good ones,” Bejarano spat, grinning widely to reveal yellow teeth.

“I’m going to get that reward,” he said, laughing wickedly as he cracked his knuckles. Jeremy raised his eyebrows in surprise, and shoved the zip ties back into his pocket.

“What do you mean by reward?” Jeremy asked, advancing forward. Bejarano’s men stepped forward as well, their hands on something in their pockets. Jeremy could guess what.

“That’s on a need to know basis,” Bejarano said, pulling out a pistol and aiming straight at Jeremy’s chest, “and you don’t need to know.”

A cold tingling sensation shot up Jeremy’s spine just as the sound of multiple safety’s being released echoed through the alleyway. He leapt up onto the side of the building to his right as shots rang out, the sounds of bullets whizzing through the air forcing adrenaline through Jeremy’s veins. He dropped off the wall and kicked a raven haired man right in the temple, toppling him just as a gloved fist came flying at his face. He twisted his body at the last possible second, feeling the assailant’s knuckles graze his face as he grabbed the man’s wrist and threw him over his shoulder, causing the man to slam into two of his comrades.

Jeremy raised his fists as another man came at him with a pocket knife, swiping at his chest. He dodged easily and punched the guy right in the jaw, knocking him backwards onto his ass. 

A loud bang echoed through the alley as pain erupted through Jeremy’s left thigh, causing him to fall onto his knees. Jeremy glanced down and was relieved to find that the bullet had only grazed him, but a fair bit of blood was flowing and the pain was blinding. He stumbled to his feet, only to get knocked down again by a punch to his cheek. Jeremy tasted blood.

“Done so soon? I expected more from you,” Bejarano growled to his right. The sound of a gun clicking caused the tingling feeling to shoot up Jeremy’s spine again.

“Don’t underestimate me,” Jeremy growled back, shooting a web and ripping the gun from Bejarano’s grasp. He whipped the gun at the man who punched him so hard that he passed out, falling onto the dirty asphalt with a thud.

Jeremy sprung up again, wincing as pain shot up his leg. _You deserved that for lying to Michael_ , Jeremy thought to himself, before shaking his head to get rid of the thoughts. They always came at this point in the fight, and Jeremy just wished that his brain would shut up for once.

“Give it up Bejarano, you've been evading the law for far too long,” Jeremy said in a measured voice. He clenched his fists and waited for a counter attack. The black haired man before him just laughed.

“Who cares about the law, Spiderboy? Soon enough society won't even have laws, if he gets his way,” Bejarano sneered. Jeremy growled with frustration.

“Who is _he_?” Jeremy demanded. Bejarano just shot him a shit eating grin.

“Like I said before, that's on a need to know basis.”

The familiar feeling of his hair standing on end and the cool tingle was all the warning he got. Jeremy whipped around and took a knife to his bicep.

He screamed in pain, punching the sneak attacker in the teeth and wrenching the blade out of his flesh. Blood poured out of the wound, staining the blue patches of his suit purple. He threw the knife at his assailant, watching as the knife buried itself hilt deep into the attacker’s right thigh with a dull thud. It was his turn to scream now, the sound ripping through the man’s throat as he fell to his knees and cupped the wound. Jeremy turned slowly towards Bejarano and his remaining men, feeling his blood boil and his patience come to an end.

“You won't tell me? Fine. I’ll just have to force it out of you,” he said, before lunging forward.

The fight didn’t last long after that.

With half of the criminals unconscious and bound by zip ties, Jeremy approached Bejarano, who had blood pouring out of his mouth from a torn lip. He reached down and grabbed his greasy black hair roughly, pulling his face off the ground.

“Who are you working for?” Jeremy hissed, clenching the dirty hair harder when the omnipresent sound of sirens approached. Bejarano winced, then spat on the ground, his saliva red.

“Fuck you,” he said, trying to wrench away from Jeremy’s grip. He just held on harder.

“I said, who are you working for?” Jeremy asked through his teeth.

“I don’t even know, asshole! His fucking men gave us a shit ton of money to do this job! He’s probably gonna kill us now,” Bejarano said, his wounded lip trembling. He actually looked scared for his life, a few tears streaming down his dirt covered face. Jeremy cursed under his breath. Who could this guy be? Was there a connection between this gang and that weird lizard Jeremy fought two weeks ago? What was so scary about this guy that even his own men were fearing for their lives?

“You’ll be under police protection,” Jeremy said curtly, letting go of the man’s hair. Bejarano let out a semi crazed laugh, closing his eyes.

“The police can’t stop him,” he said, falling silent. Jeremy made his escape as the first police officer stepped into the alley.

He swung home, landing on his roof with a stumble. He threw open his window and climbed inside, making a beeline towards his bedroom drawer. Jeremy ripped his mask off, feeling tears run down his face as the pain caught up with him. He grit his teeth and slowly peeled his suit off, shoving it under his bed along with the mask. He reached into the drawer and brought out his trusty medical kit, stuffed full of anything he’d need to treat a non life threatening wound. He grabbed the flask of rubbing alcohol, shoved a towel in his mouth, and poured it over his thigh.

A muffled scream escaped him, and he let the towel fall out of his mouth as he gasped for air. It hurt so bad he felt like passing out, but he could already feel his super healing starting to kick in and the last thing he needed was the healing process to go wrong. He reached back into the white kit and fumbled for another towel, shoving it onto the wound in a weak attempt to stem the bleeding. He grabbed the suture kit and started stitching his flesh back together, panting and sobbing as his leg felt like it was on fire. He quickly bandaged it, letting out a shaky breath he had been holding in an attempt to steady his hands. Blood was everywhere, and he hadn’t even looked at his arm yet.

When he finished with his leg, he got to work on his arm. Jeremy’s left hand shook, but he managed to stitch and bandage that wound too. As long as he didn’t move it, his arm would heal fine. Jeremy weakly packed his equipment away, and passed out on his bed.

~~~~~

He awoke to the sound of breathy sobs and a soft, shaky voice calling out his name. Jeremy cracked open his eyes, his vision blurry and his arm and leg burning, but not as bad as when he was last awake. He made out a red hoodie and white headphones, and blinked the sleepiness from his eyes. Michael came into focus, and Jeremy realized he was crying.

“M-Michael? What’s going on…? Why are you crying?” Jeremy asked, confused and dazed. He sat up with some difficulty, breathing in sharply when he disturbed his wounds. Michael immediately had his hand on Jeremy’s back, helping him up.

“Why are y-you asking me questions? I s-should be asking you q-questions!” Michael exclaimed, crying freely. Jeremy reached over instinctually to wipe away his tears, but stopped short when he realized his hands were covered in blood.

“‘M sorry Michael,” Jeremy mumbled, letting his hands drop to his lap, his gaze following them.

“You’d better tell me what the h-hell is going on here, Jeremy,” Michael demanded, removing his hand from Jeremy’s back and grabbing his blood-stained hands instead. Warm brown eyes stared piercingly into dark blue, and Jeremy felt as if Michael could see right through to his secret. Jeremy looked down at their hands with unease. It would be so easy to tell him. Just three words and his secret would be out. He could be free.

But he could also get Michael killed.

“I’m sorry, but I still can’t tell you,” Jeremy whispered. He didn’t dare look up to see Michael’s expression, but he squeezed his hands in an effort to keep him there. He didn’t want Michael to leave him again. He didn’t want to be left alone. It was so much easier to fight as Spiderman when he had someone to fight for. He knew he was being selfish, but seeing Michael smile and gush over his victories at school was all the thanks he ever needed. He felt Michael squeeze his hands back, and Jeremy took a shaky breath.

“I’ll tell you one day, but I’m not ready yet,” Jeremy murmured. He looked up when Michael sniffled loudly, watching as his best friend smiled half-heartedly.

“Okay… I… I trust you,” Michael whispered. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, the opened them again and looked over Jeremy.

“Show me your wounds, we need to make sure you treated them properly,” Michael said, his voice regaining some of the confidence it usually held. Jeremy did as he was told, cutting the bandages off and showing Michael his cuts. He stared at the wounds, his eyebrows furrowing.

“They… they're starting to scab over,” Michael muttered. Jeremy watched as Michael’s eyes flickered to a bloody towel on the ground, then back to Jeremy’s thigh and arm.

“It… it wasn't that bad,” Jeremy grasped for an excuse. Michael looked back up at him, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“If that's the case, why would you need stitches?”

Jeremy paled and looked away. He suddenly felt extremely self conscious, then remembered he was sitting in front of Michael in nothing but his boxers and covered with blood.

“Uh, well… you know what, I'm gonna go take a shower,” Jeremy sputtered out, standing up and picking up the bloody towel. He noticed Michael’s bag on the floor by the door, and noticed the corner of a chip bag sticking out where the zipper ends were.

“Did you come to play video games?” Jeremy asked, turning around. Michael rolled his eyes.

“Well I was before I found you like that,” he replied, gesturing at Jeremy.

“We can still play, you know, after my shower?” Jeremy suggested. Michael picked at the sleeve of his hoodie.

“Sure,” he said quietly.

Jeremy hobbled to the bathroom feeling anxious, yet happy.

~~~~~

## [JULIUS BEJARANO]

_posted by: PlayerOne_

_Sorry I wasn't able to get a photo this time guys! I was a little preoccupied, but I should be back in the SWING of things now. Eh? Get it? Well anyways, back to the subject at hand. I've never seen Spiderman do such a thorough job with his fights before. Hell, the entire gang looked like they got run over with a truck! It was kinda amazing, if you ask me. Again, I'll link an in-dephth article down below, but onto the serious stuff._

_How did Bejarano die?_

_He was under police custody, in pretty much one of the most secure buildings in New York, and all of a sudden he started foaming at the mouth and died in his cell before the police could even question him! And aparently the same thing happened to his men! Police ruled out cyanide, since they strip searched them and made sure they didn't have pills on them._

_Why do I have a bad feeling about this?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to write guys! I ran a bit low on inspiration and it usually takes me a few days to properly recharge and get my brain back into writing. The good news is, school just ended for me, so I'll have an entire summer to write! Please pester me if I start to procrastinate, lol


	4. Cheat Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> would you look at that
> 
> i'm not dead

Jeremy tapped the end of his pen against his lips, squinting at his laptop screen at 4 in the morning. He was sure that the gang would scold him for pulling an all-nighter again, but he felt like Bejerano’s mysterious death was worth the research.

According to the autopsy report released by the NJSP, Bejerano and his men died suddenly the night of their capture. Cause of death; an unidentified neurotoxin virtually undetectable with the latest technology. No one was sure how it got in their systems, but once they died, it was clear that it was some sort of toxic substance.

Jeremy leaned back in his chair, perplexed. A strange, mutant lizard lady that by no means should exist. A renowned crime boss and his crew, dead because of a never before seen neurotoxin. Both of them referring to a higher power. This couldn’t just be a coincidence. Whoever Jeremy was up against had tools even the government didn’t have their hands on.

Jeremy sighed and finally put his pen down. He got up, stretched, and slowly shuffled towards his bed. His head was swirling with half-formed questions and mysteries he couldn’t solve. He was exhausted. His head hit the pillow and he knew no more.

~~~~~

_I’ll… …nd you…_

_Just y… …ait…_

_I… don… know wh… …ou are…_

_But I… …ll find ou…_

_I always do._

~~~~~

Jeremy jolted awake, his heart pounding as he barely registered the sound of his alarm clock blaring at him. He quickly turned it off, then clutched his shirt anxiously. What was that dream? All he could hear was that strange, distorted voice. What were they saying? He grasped for the message, but it was gone. All he was left with was a feeling of unease.

Jeremy shakily got up and began to get ready for school. All he could think about was that strange dream. Even when Michael’s usual morning car honk sounded through his walls, he couldn’t bring himself to put a smile on his face when he slipped into the passenger seat.

“Morning Jer- hey, you okay?” Michael asked, immediately catching onto Jeremy’s unease.

“Uh… yeah. I’m fine… just woke up on the wrong side of the bed is all…” he replied. Michael raised an eyebrow but didn’t question him as he began to drive towards school.

“So, the others and I noticed that you’ve been kinda stressed recently…” Michael started tentatively. Jeremy tensed slightly.

“We were wondering if… maybe… you wanted to go to the mall or something after school. Just chill and stuff?” Michael continued. Jeremy had a ‘no’ already on his lips but stopped himself short. When was the last time he took a break anyway? Between Spiderman and school, he barely had time for sleeping and eating, let alone being just a normal teenager. Maybe he should treat himself.

“Um… okay,” he replied. Michael’s face lit up with a smile, and the two boys found themselves looking forward to the afternoon more than usual.

~~~~~

“Oh. My. God. Jeremy, would you hurry up?” Chloe snapped, snatching Jeremy’s sweater and pulling him away from the display window of Game Stop.

“B-But-”

“No buts!” Brooke chirped, hooking her arm around Jeremy’s elbow, “Today is all about you sweetie, so we’re gonna make sure you get refreshed and recharged!”

“And that’s not going to happen in a dingy Game Stop,” Jenna said from behind her phone. The girls physically dragged Jeremy towards a Starbucks, and while he felt really grateful towards his friends for trying to help him relax, he found that he really couldn’t. His dream weighed down on him like a nasty aftertaste, and no amount of metaphorical mouthwash was going to get rid of it. He found himself severely regretting his decision to come as he stood in line for an overpriced coffee.

“I should be doing research…” Jeremy muttered under his breath.

“Research on what?” Chloe asked without missing a beat. Jeremy winced, remembering that Chloe had an ear that was fine-tuned from listening for gossip.

“Oh, uh… It’s a… psychology slash… criminology project… I have to do research on crime and stuff…” Jeremy lied through his teeth.

“Ew, that sounds tiring. Do you want some help? I’m nothing if not good at gathering information,” Chloe said, putting her phone away and winking at Jeremy. He stared at her, wondering how stressed he must look if it even warrants Chloe giving this much of a shit about school.

“Uh… sure, I guess? I’m researching Julius Bejerano,” he ventured. He wondered why he was even trying this.

“Oh, the guy who died mysteriously in prison? I gotchu,” Chloe said, already digging out her phone and tapping away. Jeremy said a weak ‘thanks’, then looked over at Michael, who was waiting with the others at the few tables Starbucks set out. His player one glanced at him, smiled and waved, then went back to chatting with Rich. Jeremy felt a pang of jealousy before he brushed it away and tuned back into whatever Brooke was saying. 

“… and like, she totally didn’t deserve that, you know? So, I was like-”

The hair on the back of Jeremy’s neck suddenly stood up, before a boom echoed through the mall, cutting Brooke off short. Jeremy whipped around towards the source of the offending noise, quickly pinpointing its origins to a dust cloud on the floor above them. Screaming quickly filled the air, as civilians wisely ran the other way. Jeremy started pushing Brooke and Chloe out of the line and towards the others, who were already making their way towards them.

“What the fuck is going on?!” Jake shouted over the din. Rich tugged on his arm, then grabbed Christine around the waist as they started to run.

“Come on, we need to get out of here!”

Jeremy grabbed Michael’s hand and tugged him along, both of them herding the others before them. Jeremy really did not need this right now. Today was supposed to be his relaxation day, and sure he wasn’t totally taking advantage of it, but it was nice while it lasted. He looked to the left and spotted a washroom.

“Michael, listen, you keep the others safe, okay?” Jeremy said, letting go of Michael’s hand. He stared at him, incredulous. They both stopped in their tracks.

“What are you gonna do?” he asked. Jeremy shook his head, already starting to panic.

“Um… uh… listen, I really need to use the washroom right now,” Jeremy blurted out. Michael stared at him blankly.

“Seriously, I need to go, I’ll be out soon, I promise!” Jeremy yelled, already starting to run towards the washrooms, “Keep going! I’ll be fine!”

He watched Michael hesitate, then begin to run off towards the others, picking up speed. Once he made sure Michael met up with his friends, Jeremy threw himself into the washroom and was relieved to find that all the stalls were vacant. He changed into his spandex, hid his backpack in a corner, then ran out once his friends were out of sight. There were still civilians streaming past him, so he shouted out encouragement as he made his way towards the source of the commotion.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are, Spider _brat!_ ” a sickly-sweet voice rang out among the chaos. Jeremy groaned as he realized that yet another villain seemed to be targeting him. This time, he hoped he could at least get some information out of them. Jeremy swung up to the floor above him and landed near a large pile of rubble. Through a massive hole in the wall, he could see the sky and the parking lot below. He whistled as he took in the damage.

“There you are!” the voice shrieked. A tingle shot up Jeremy’s spine as he jumped out of the way, the wall next to him exploding outwards with an invisible force. He landed on a wall a few feet away, finally spotting his target.

She was a woman in her late 30’s, still fit, with auburn coloured hair. There was a pair of strange gauntlets attached to her arms, with wires snaking from the metal into her skin. She aimed the gauntlets at him again, and a strange, high-pitched noise cut through the air, making Jeremy wince. He jumped out of the way just as the wall he was hanging from exploded into pieces as well.

“Well, you found me. Next, you’re going to tell me that you’re working for someone who wants me alive, right?” He asked, dodging another invisible blast, “Let’s save some time, shall we? Who is he?”

“It’s never that easy, Spiderbrat,” the woman spat. Quick as lightning, she spun around and shot him with her gauntlets. The high-pitched noise completely filled Jeremy’s brain, and his chest suddenly felt like it was collapsing in on itself. He dimly registered his back breaking a window. He groaned and clutched his ears and felt the stickiness of blood begin to pool under his scratched up back.

The woman sauntered into the store, smirking as she blew on her gauntlet as if it was a smoking gun. She knelt down, tilting her head as she observed his mask. Jeremy could smell the cigarette smoke coming from her mouth.

“Well well, let’s see now. I wonder what you look like?” she asked. The metal on her gauntlet suddenly started folding away to reveal her fingers, and she reached down, searching for the seam on his neck.

“Okay, that’s where I have to stop you, bitch,” Jeremy said through gritted teeth. He flicked his wrist and webbed her in the face, causing her to scream muffled profanities and stumble backward. Jeremy stumbled to his feet, shaking his head of the insufferable ringing. That’s when he heard it.

The click of a camera shutter, followed by multiple voices whisper-screaming, “Michael!”

“I’ll fucking kill you, brat!” the woman screamed, using a part of her gauntlet to rip away the web around her mouth. She tried to rip off the web around her eyes, and as she struggled, Jeremy inched towards the storefront. He caught a glimpse of Michael and the gang, all of them frozen with fear. He motioned at them to run, but they all seemed glued to the floor. The woman finally ripped the web off her face, but a few wispy pieces hanging off of her chin made it look like she had a beard.

“You’ve successfully pissed me off!” she screeched, her gauntlet folding back over her hand. She punched a nearby wall and it crumbled like children’s blocks.

“Jeez, why do you villains always sound so lame?” Jeremy pondered, distracting her. He hoped that his friends would get the hint and run.

_Click!_

That was a no.

The woman turned towards the sound of the camera shutter and spotted Jeremy’s friends, all huddled behind Michael. He defiantly took another picture.

“Paparazzi? How annoying,” the woman said, a sneer on her face. Jeremy leaped in front of them, quickly webbing her gauntlets.

“RUN!” he shouted. That finally seemed to bring Michael back to his senses, as he looked to the others and started running. Jeremy suddenly felt a violent rumbling up his arms as he realized too late that the woman’s gauntlets were starting up. The high-pitched screech filled the air once more.

“You picked with the wrong Sergeant to mess with,” she said.

“We’ll see about that,” Jeremy replied.

~~~~~

## [help]

_posted by: PlayerOne_

_woiefv_

_IMG385.jpeg attached._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :')
> 
> So I have a lot of things to say here and I hope you'll bear with me. First of all, I'm sorry that I haven't posted in like... a year? A year and a half? I don't even remember anymore. I'm terribly sorry for leaving you all hanging (pun intended haha) but I've taken this story up again and I'll try my best to see it through to the end.
> 
> Second of all, this isn't the best chapter I've ever written, and I know that. I'm still struggling with this story a bit and hopefully, I'll get back into the swing (hAHA) of things soon.
> 
> Third of all, I very much appreciate all of your comments. Your support of this series kept this story in the back of my mind, even though I wasn't writing for it. Your feedback boosted me up when I was low, to the point where I felt like I could write this again! I'm very grateful for all of you. <3
> 
> And finally, some notes for the chapter. I've taken some feedback from the comments (most notably from FurorNocturna, thank you again!!!) and integrated them. I'm still not completely, 100% sure where I'm going with the long-term plot, but I do have a base shape and idea and I'd love to hear your ideas and feedbacks too. Anyways, there are some things which I found I couldn't really communicate well, so here they are.
> 
> \- I am aware that Jeremy was very obvious in the scene where he needed to break away from the group to change, but I justified that scene with; "Well, Jeremy's really awkward and Michael can probably relate to taking a bathroom break. He doesn't suspect a thing."
> 
> \- An important note about the gauntlets: they connect directly to her nervous system. You can't remove them, as that would kill her. There's some hardcore science going on around here. Also if you didn't catch on, the gauntlets emit high sound frequencies, scrambling your head and just generally making you feel b a d. A normal person being hit with that would probably pass out. Thankfully, our hero is quite resilient. (P.S. I nicknamed her Sonic in my head.)
> 
> \- No, Michael is not stupid. He's just completely in love with Spiderman and believes that his hero can protect him from anything (remember the first chapter? lmao that was so long ago.) Now that I think about it, I kind of gave them a Miraculous Ladybug kind of relationship. It's a love triangle with only two people.
> 
> This whole notes thing was kind of an apology for that long hiatus. Again, I apologize profusely, and hope you guys will continue to support my story! (Also a share to some friends would be very nice ;) ) I love you guys! You are the lifeblood of this series <3


	5. The Shocker

Jeremy felt as if his brain had been reduced to mush. _Am I in Chemistry?_ he vaguely thought, before a metal covered fist connected with his jaw. Jeremy stumbled backwards, before taking another sonic blast. He wasn’t sure how many more his poor body could handle. Every hit he took hindered him from dodging the next one.

“Well, it seems like we’re almost done here,” the sergeant said lazily, “I’m disappointed. I expected more of a challenge. Oh well.” Jeremy squinted through the sweat and tears and just saw her kick at his head coming. He grabbed her ankle inches away from his face and twisted as hard as he could. He heard a yelp from somewhere above him, followed by a heavy thud. Jeremy staggered to his feet, wincing at the pain pulsing through his body. His back felt sticky with blood and sweat, and his stomach churned uncomfortably. He webbed the sergeant to the ground, covering her entire body in a cocoon.

“Yep, we’re done,” Jeremy panted. He fell to his knees and grabbed her face, “Now, who do you work for?” The sergeant rolled her eyes and spat on his arm. Jeremy grimaced.

“I was an army sergeant honey, it’s going to take a lot more than a simple question to get an answer out of me.” Jeremy huffed in annoyance.

“Well what if I decide to stop being nice and get an answer out of you a different way?” he threatened. The sergeant laughed dryly.

“You barely even hit me boy, how can you threaten to torture me?” she asked, calling his bluff. Jeremy closed his eyes, fed up with the sergeant. Today was supposed to be his day off, his day to hang out with his friends a pretend to be a normal teenager. He didn’t need some two-bit bad guy calling him out on his bullshit. He dimly registered the sounds of sirens in the distance, and just as he was about to open his mouth for another threat, the sergeant whimpered under him.

Jeremy’s eyes snapped open, shocked to see blue veins crawling up her neck from under her shirt. Jeremy quickly let go of her face, watching in horror as she writhed, her gauntlet covered hands breaking out from under the webs to clutch her throat in a panic. She fought against the webs, struggling to gain any sort of traction as the sickly blue veins continued up her face. Her glassy brown eyes stared at him, her façade of a hard-boiled army sergeant slipping away. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him down, so he could hear her whisper.

“I have a daughter… I d-did this for her… The guy you’re looking for, h-he has eyes everywhere… He p-probably knows who you are…”

Her fingers slipped from Jeremy’s wrist and her head lolled to the side. He lowered his head, shocked at her sudden death. Whoever she worked for, whoever any of them worked for was not above senseless killing. He reached forward and closed her eyes, then stood up, wincing as pain shot through his body once more. He feebly swung back to the main floor of the now empty mall, making his way towards the washroom. Sirens pierced the air as he found his backpack and escaped through the washroom window, wincing as he threaded his arms through the straps. The feeling of tough fabric against his scratched-up back was painful, but he managed to take a few steps before a voice called his name.

“Jeremy!” Michael yelled. A few more chorused his name and Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief. His friends were safe.

“I’m-” he started, before clasping his hands over his mouth as he quickly realized his mistake. He tore his mask off, staring at it.

He was still in his suit.

“I think I heard something,” he heard Christine say. Jeremy’s hair stood on end as he heard footsteps coming towards him. He looked around and dove behind a dumpster.

“Jeremy? Huh. I could have sworn…” Christine said as she rounded the corner. Jeremy frantically tugged his pants on over his spandex, thankful that his outfit today consisted of long sleeves. His breathing quickened as he began putting on his shirt, shoving his feet into his shoes at the same time. He tore off his suit’s gloves and shoved them along with his soles into his bag, nestled with his mask. He did a quick once over of himself, making sure there was no red or blue showing under his clothes, before fluffing up his hair so it didn’t look like it had been forcefully shoved under a mask. He only hoped that blood wouldn’t seep through his shirt.

He stepped out from behind the dumpster, just in time to see Christine round the corner. He tried his best to mask the pain as he jogged up to her.

“Christine!” He shouted. She turned around, surprised.

“There you are! We were looking all over for you! Do you have any idea how worried we were?” Christine put her hands on her hips as she began to chew him out. Jeremy put his hands on her shoulders in an effort to stop her.

“I’m fine! I’m okay. I just… really had to go to the washroom and then right after that I escaped through the window and hid behind a dumpster the entire time!” he said. Christine raised an eyebrow, incredulous.

“You had to go to the washroom so badly that you had to go during an attack?” Jeremy blushed, embarrassed.

“Yes…?” He replied sheepishly, hoping his terrible lie would come through as awkwardness instead.

“So, you mean to tell me that you got that black eye from going to the washroom?” She asked, raising her hand up to his face. Jeremy froze as she gently brushed her thumb against his skin, and he winced as the bruise suddenly made itself known.

“Um, I fell on my face while I was climbing out,” he replied quickly. Christine giggled but she didn’t remove her hand. Jeremy gulped, nervously looking anywhere but her face.

“Christine, did you find him ye…t,” Michael trailed off as he turned the corner, his eyes traveling from Christine, to her hand on Jeremy’s cheek, to Jeremy himself. Jeremy took a quick step back, his cheeks heating up from embarrassment, and Christine hid the guilty hand behind her back, her cheeks also flushing. Michael looked back and forth between them, his eyes wide. He took a step back. Then another.

“Uh… you found him! Good job! Um,” Michael’s eyes darted to Jeremy’s eye. He stepped forward again, looking as if he wanted to raise his own hand to touch Jeremy’s face, but he looked over at Christine again and stopped.

“Sorry for interrupting,” he said quietly, making his escape around the corner. Christine awkwardly shuffled off towards the rest of the group, leaving Jeremy alone with his thoughts of impending doom, the pain in his body, and the lingering image of a disappointed Michael.

~~~~~

## [THE SHOCKER]

_posted by: PlayerOne_

_Sorry about my last post, it was super tense, and I was caught right in the middle of it! It was pretty awesome. Here’s a video of Spidey kicking some ass!_

_Side note: She’s dead. The authorities are starting to pin these deaths on Spidey, but I know that’s not true! He has a strict_ no kill _policy! Besides, I managed to catch a glimpse of these blue veins on The Shocker’s neck and I know for a fact that Spidey doesn’t have the equipment or powers to cause that._

_SPIDEY.mov attached._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha ya girl did it again she updated like a year later
> 
> we love a shishter who updates regularly ;)
> 
> anyways here we see Jeremy being awkward and also being beat half to death hope you enjoyed :)))

**Author's Note:**

> This isn't going to be a one shot whoa! Lmao feel free to yell at me on Tumblr about the boyfs!
> 
> @sweetsinnamondaddy


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